The energy transition is accelerating. It has moved rapidly from talk and commitments to policy, laws, and investment. For SLB, this is an immense opportunity to provide the innovation and energy technologies at scale needed to reach net-zero carbon emissions.

We are creating and scaling a diversified portfolio of businesses focused on decarbonization and clean energy technology across five business areas, and in 2022 we made significant strides in building partnerships, investments, and new capabilities across each of these.

Carbon solutions

Carbon Solutions leverages our strengths in both subsurface and processing equipment with enormous opportunities in carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS), spurred by the Inflation Reduction Act in the US and national decarbonization agendas in Europe and the Middle East.

SLB is well-positioned in the adjacent CCUS market, which is expected to grow to more than $50 billion per year by 2030, and over $250 billion by 2040. We have been in the CCUS business for more than three decades and, as of the end of 2022, are actively involved in 22 major CCUS projects globally, representing175 Mtpa in abatable emissions, and providing consulting or other services to more than 50 other early-stage projects.

In 2022, we entered a strategic collaboration with Linde on CCUS projects to accelerate decarbonization solutions across industrial and energy sectors. We also joined with RTI International to accelerate the industrialization and scale-up of innovative non-aqueous solvent CO2 capture technology, an exciting solution with the potential to address a broad range of emissions streams, with applications covering more than 80 percent of the capture market.

Geothermal and geoenergy

The global economic environment and the inherent stability of geothermal energy as baseload renewable power have reinvigorated the geothermal market. Mastery of the subsurface is a key SLB strength and today our GeothermEx offering is the world's leading geothermal consultancy. For more than 50 years, it has assessed resources across the globe and has been involved in 80 percent of all geothermal fields currently operating.

In November, we announced a collaboration with Oman's Ministry of Energy and Minerals and the Oman Investment Authority in building a national strategy to develop the potential of Oman's geothermal resources.

Founded through innovation as an internal startup, our Celsius Energy business leverages our inherent subsurface and engineering capabilities to provide a solution to efficiently heat and cool large-scale facilities, reducing building emissions by up to 90 percent. Celsius Energy was recently awarded the largest geoenergy project in France—one of the top 10 in Europe—and has developed a significant pipeline of projects.

Critical minerals

Critical minerals are essential to a range of technologies driving energy transition. Lithium is under the greatest supply and demand pressure, and SLB's initial focus is on brine, one of the two resources from which lithium is produced.

Our Neolith Energy solution integrates exciting processing technologies for lithium extraction, concentration, and conversion that efficiently and sustainably enables production of battery-grade lithium products. Our pilot project in Nevada, announced in 2021 and anticipated to be operational by the second quarter of 2023, is expected to make huge strides in sustainable operations, using just 15 percent of the water and seven percent of the land, and reducing emissions by 60 to 80 percent compared to traditional lithium extraction methods.

“Our strategy for creating and scaling a diversified portfolio of businesses focused on decarbonization and clean energy technology will be key to the company's future.“

Gavin Rennick
President of New Energy

Stationary energy storage

As the penetration of renewable energy resources increases, so does the need for storage to ensure the efficiency of assets and the reliability of electricity systems. We have made investments in the rapidly growing market for large-scale, long-duration energy storage. These include Enervenue, a startup that delivers nickel hydrogen, non-lithium based, economic, safe battery technology, and Raygen, which is developing longer-duration thermal energy storage projects for large-scale solar assets.

Hydrogen

Hydrogen may be our greatest long-term opportunity to decarbonize industrial sectors globally. Demand for low-carbon hydrogen is growing fast, supported by large public investment programs, targets, and incentives around the world. Within the hydrogen ecosystem, SLB is developing production technology that creates low-carbon hydrogen from electricity or gas in the most economic and sustainable ways.

Our clean hydrogen joint venture Genvia, a public/private partnership between SLB, the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and other partners, has six pilot projects underway in multiple high-emissions industries, including petrochemicals, cement, and steel, for its electricity-to-hydrogen conversion technology.

SLB's New Energy business has secured an investment in ZEG Power to scale up the ZEG ICC™ technology for clean hydrogen production from hydrocarbon gas. The ZEG ICC technology is based on sorbent enhanced reforming and was originally developed at the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) in Norway. The first commercial ZEG plant was installed in late 2022 and will go into operation in 2023 at CCB Energy Park at Kollsnes, Norway, adjacent to the planned Northern Lights CO2 storage infrastructure.